Love
by mykkila09
Summary: Kim has chosen to leave the rangers and take the offer to train in Florida; though he loves her and wishes things were different, Tommy knows he has to let her go, that she has to go. So, with a smile on his face, love in his eyes, and his heart breaking, he lets her go. Other rangers present, focus mainly on Tommy and Kim. DO NOT COPY TO ANOTHER SITE


**Setting: **MMPR around season 3, when Kim is leaving to go to Florida.**  
Summary: **Kim has chosen to leave the rangers and take the offer to train in Florida; though he loves her and wishes things were different, Tommy knows he has to let her go, that she has to go. So, with a smile on his face, love in his eyes, and his heart breaking, he lets her go.

**A/N: **here's a new one shot. I was going through and listening to some songs from my childhood, the 90s era (the best when it comes to music, but I'm biased being that I am a 90s baby/child lol), and as I was listening to Mariah Carey's _Butterfly, _almost immediately, I thought of Tommy and Kim and her leaving to go to Florida. I got the lyrics and saved them and the more I hear the song, the more I realize how perfect it is as a love note from Tommy to Kim. So…yeah, I would recommend having the song playing while reading (I had it playing while I was writing this 😊 ); it enhances the experience lol.

**PR Disclaimer: **Power Rangers and all its affiliates belong to Haim Saban; no trademark or copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made from this. T

**Song Disclaimer: **The song _Butterfly _belongs to Mariah Carey and whoever else; no trademark or copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made from this. In other words, I do not own either of these.

"Speaking"  
_'Thinking'  
Song Lyrics_

* * *

The first time he saw her, it was during the tournament when he had first moved to Angel Grove; though he had been focused on his matches and winning, his attention had still been caught by the short girl in pink. There had been something about her that drew him, even before he knew her name.

Meeting her the next day at school had only confirmed everything he had felt the day before; shaking her hand, feeling that connection snap into place, and he had known, the moment they smiled at each other, that she was meant for him…and he for her; that they were meant to find each other, to be together.

They had been through so much in the last near three years: him turning evil, destroying the Command Centre, banishing Zordon, attacking her and the others, joining their team, losing his powers, gaining them back only to lose them again, becoming the white ranger, losing their powers, gaining the Ninjetti powers, and not to mention all the monster attacks.

But the last few days, week, had been the hardest hurdle for them to get over; watching her going through losing her power coin, was nothing compared to finding her unconscious in Zedd's dimension. They, _he_, had come so close to losing her, really losing her.

_When you love someone so deeply  
They become your life  
It's easy to succumb to overwhelming fears inside  
Blindly I imagined I could keep you under glass  
Now I understand to hold you I must open up my hands  
And watch you rise_

But they hadn't; she had recovered, though it wasn't without a loss. Zordon had had to sever the connection she had to the power coin to save her life. Of course, they had recovered the coin and restored the connection, and for a moment, things had looked up.

And in the midst of all of that, _he _had arrived.

Coach Gunter Schmidt. A coach renowned for training gymnastic athletes and Olympic hopefuls, almost on the same par as Bela Karolyi. The moment the man had walked up to him in the juice bar, amazement in his eyes as he watched Kimberly on the balance beam, Tommy had known then that once again, things would be changing.

He had been right.

He had wanted to keep him away, to grab Kim and hide her away from the man and his intentions, but he knew, no matter how much he wanted, it couldn't happen; he couldn't do that to Kim.

_Spread your wings and prepare to fly  
For you have become a butterfly  
Ohhh, fly abandonedly into the sun  
If you should return to me  
We truly were meant to be  
So spread your wings and fly  
Butterfly_

So, instead, he watched as the man helped Kim train, to make her childhood dreams a reality, all the while, his heart ached in his chest because he knew, he knew what the training meant, that Kim would be leaving.

Watching Kim train, watching her push through all that Zedd had thrown at her, how she refused to break no matter how hard the villain had tried, had only made him fallen even more in love with her and reinforced the thought, the feeling, that she was quite honestly the strongest person he knew.

And he had to let her go.

_I have learned that beauty has to flourish in the light  
Wild horses run unbridled or their spirit dies  
You have given me the courage to be all that I can  
And I truly feel your heart will lead you back to me  
When you're ready to land_

And after everything was set right, her coin back in her hands, her connection restored, she had performed her routine, wowing everyone and showing what he and the others had always known; that she was something special and destined for greatness.

How could he not love her? How could he not want her to achieve her dreams? Even if it meant leaving the team? And he knew leaving would be the choice she would make, even if a part of her wanted to stay with as a ranger, with them, this was an opportunity she couldn't, and _shouldn't,_ let pass her by.

And so, standing in the Command Centre with the others, Kim in front of them wringing her hands, he knew what she was going to say, and was proven right when she told them about Schmidt's offer and her decision.

"You're not surprised," Kim said, silencing the protests of the others, who then turned to look at their leader.

Tommy ignored them though and gave her a soft smile. "Of course not. I know you Kim, better than anyone, so I knew what you were going to choose. This has always been a dream of yours, and as much as I would like you to stay here, with me and the team, I can't do that. I can't be the one to stand in the way of you accomplishing those dreams, and I can't let you do it either."

_Spread your wings and prepare to fly  
For you have become a butterfly  
Ohhh, fly abandonedly into the sun  
If you should return to me  
We truly were meant to be  
So spread your wings and fly  
Butterfly_

Tears filled her eyes. "I really do want to go."

"I know," he nodded, and then he reached out and pulled her into a hug. "And you should. This is your dream Kim."

~…~

And so, here he was, along with the rest of the rangers including Kat, standing at the airport and waiting for when Kim would leave.

The last few days had been a rollercoaster of emotions; all of them torn between being happy for Kimberly and sad that she was leaving, not just the team, but Angel Grove as well.

It had reminded them of when Jason, Zack and Trini had been chosen to go to the World Peace Conference.

_I can't pretend these tears aren't overflowing steadily  
I can't prevent this hurt from almost overtaking me  
But I will stand and say goodbye  
For you'll never be mine  
Until you know the way it feels to fly_

When the announcement came and the boarding began, it prompted another round of hugs, kisses, tears and well wishes.

He watched as Kim hugged each of them, whispering something to Kat that made the blonde smile and tear up slightly, before the others converged on the two pink rangers in a group hug.

When the second call came, he grabbed Kim's bags and the two stepped away from their friends.

"I don't know how to say goodbye to you," Kim whispered as she turned to face him.

"I know the feeling," he told her, "but it's only goodbye for a while, not forever. You're going to go to Florida, and you'll be amazing. You'll show them all what we know, and we'll be cheering you on from here. And when it's over, when you've done what you've set out to do, we'll be here waiting…_I'll _be here waiting."

"I love you Tommy." Kim cried, her tears spilling over at the absolute love and faith he held in her. "More than I ever thought possible."

"I love you too Kim," he replied. He reached up and gently wiped her tears before pulling her into a kiss. He reluctantly pulled back when he heard the final boarding call. "Go. Be best gymnast the Olympics has ever seen, and then, come home."

_Spread your wings and prepare to fly  
For you have become a butterfly  
Ohhh, fly abandonedly into the sun  
If you should return to me  
We truly were meant to be  
So spread your wings and fly  
Butterfly_

"I love you," Kim whispered before she grabbed her bags, and turned to walked away. She gave her pass to the attendant and headed towards the door. As she stepped through, she stopped and turned to look back at her friends, giving them one last smile and a wave before disappearing out of sight.

It hurt his heart, watching her leave, but he knew that this was something that had to be done. He had faith in her, and in them, and he meant what he had told her; this was goodbye, but only for a short while, so that she could spread her wings and fly to achieve her dreams. He had no doubt that she would, and when she did, she would return to him.

_Epilogue_

Tommy was at the park with the others, the group of friends and rangers enjoying a rear afternoon off from attacks from the Machine Empire.

Billy, Rocky and Adam were wrestling each other, with Adam and Billy teaming up on the current blue ranger, while Kat and Tanya laughed and egged them on. The "match" ended not long after with Rocky declaring defeat, and the friends collapsed laughing next to and around Tommy.

"Hey, who is that?" Tanya asked she gestured to where a girl in a pink sundress was quickly making her towards them. She'd turned to say something to Kat when she noticed the girl and was confused as she didn't recognize her.

But the others did.

"Is that…" Kat trailed off as she turned to look at Tommy.

"Kimberly," came the breathless answer from Tommy even as he stumbled to his feet. He was barely aware of Tanya's questions, eyes only on the form of the former pink ranger heading their way.

He took a step towards her, and then another, and before he knew it, she was in his arms and he was breathing in the very familiar smell of her. "Kimberly."

"I did what you said," Kim whispered into the hug.

"And now, you're here," he replied, tightening his hold on her, not wanting to let go.

Later, he would, and he would notice that she wasn't the only former ranger to return and introductions would be made, but for now, he enjoyed holding the love of life in his arms for the first time in over a year. She'd gone out and accomplished her dream, and true to what he'd always believed, she came back to him.

_Spread your wings and prepare to fly  
For you have become a butterfly  
Ohhh, fly abandonedly into the sun  
If you should return to me,  
We truly were meant to be  
So spread your wings and fly  
Butterfly_

* * *

**A/N 2: **so…what did you guys think? Wasn't this a perfect song for our lovely couple? I went through a few different titles before settling on the current one because that is the theme throughout the story: love. Tommy's unfailing, faithful love for Kimberly and her for him.

Some things to note: Kat did have feelings for Tommy, but the faded away once she realized just how dedicated her was to Kim and his relationship to her; so, instead of a breakup letter, it was just a letter that told of how things were going. Also, I just…ignored the whole situation with Billy because that was only done due to David leaving due to issues on set, so here, Billy was never rapidly aging and thus dying and instead became the technical advisor to the rangers and helped out in the Power Chamber with Alpha and Zordon. Wasn't too sure on the ending, but still. Anyways, let me know your thoughts 😊

_Kila _


End file.
